NFL Player News

Van Pran-Granger (6’041/298) arrived on campus in 2020 and bided his time for a season before starting every single game for the back-to-back 2021-2022 National Champions over the next three seasons. Despite playing 2,721 snaps over that span, Van Pran-Granger only gave up one sack and one hit while pitching a terrific 98.7% pass blocking efficiency rate. Compact but thickly built with above-average core strength for a 298-pounder, Van PranGranger is a brick house in pass protection as is evidenced by the 72nd percentile or better PFF pass block grades he recorded every year of his Georgia career against blue chip SEC talent. He has a tendency to overrun plays on the second level and he can play upright at times which lets defenders dart around him. That tendency contributed to an uninspiring 3.6% blown run block rate that was the worst mark on the team in 2023. Van Pran-Granger was still worthy of almost universal All-American recognition for leading a Georgia squad that only lost one game, the SEC Championship versus Alabama. Though relatively light by modern standards, Van Pran-Granger (6’041/298) possesses the top notch movement capabilities required of all NFL centers, and proved it by running a 7.46s 3-Cone (95th%) and a 1.78s 10-yard split (88th%). However the 22 bench reps (41st%) is reflective of his lack of density across his upper body and less than ideal 31.375” length arms, which can leave SVPG vulnerable to long-limbed IDLs who can use push/pull maneuvers to get past him. Length concerns and run game contact rate aside, Van Pran-Granger has solidified himself as a plug-and-play caliber center who flashed the ability to both overpower stout defensive tackles and race to meet linebackers on combo blocks. He’s one of the most projectable interior linemen in the 2024 Draft Class and should play meaningful minutes as a rookie.

It’s an incredibly vague response from McVay, who indicated over the weekend that Stafford would return to the field after going through a successful workout on Saturday. Instead, Stafford was spotted in street clothes on Monday and was also seen walking into an Ammortal chamber that specializes as a “wellness device that aims to optimize human performance and promote holistic health through a combination of non-invasive technologies.” So there’s that. McVay said surgery has not been talked about as an option for Stafford, but said his quarterback “didn’t feel good enough” to be on the field on Monday. There’s no way to know at this time if Stafford will or will not be available for Week 1, but there’s certainly reason to be skeptical. Like the Rams, we will also remain “flexible and fluid” with all news involving Stafford, and will check back in with any updates as they come. In the event Stafford is unavailable for any part of the regular season, Jimmy Garoppolo would be the favorite to draw starts.

White did not practice on Monday after suffering a groin injury in Saturday’s preseason game against the Titans, but it doesn’t sound like the third-year back is going to be out for too long. White led the Buccaneers’ backfield on Saturday with Bucky Irving held out, and rushed six times for 28 yards in the outing. While his calling card has been in the passing game, White is at risk of losing more work to Irving, who has reportedly impressed as a pass-catcher in camp. He remains a decent handcuff to Irving for the time being, but may not have the standalone value he still carried even after Irving stepped into the RB1 role.

Stafford threw upwards of 60 passes on Saturday in preparation for his return to the field on Monday. Instead, his much-anticipated return has again been delayed due to a back injury that required an epidural last week. Head coach Sean McVay said last week that Stafford was feeling well enough to play in games, which may still be the case, but the decision to hold him out on a day he was set to return is somewhat alarming. Hopefully, we’ll get more clarification on his status after practice, but this remains a story to monitor with Week 1 less than a month away.

Per Packers beat writer Matt Schneidman, Lloyd and fellow running back Emanuel Wilson (knee) both practiced “in some capacity.” It doesn’t sound like either back got in a full workload, but it’s an encouraging sign for a backfield that was down its top two backups last week. Wilson is currently listed as the team’s RB2, with Lloyd backing him up as the RB3. Assuming both backs are back in 11-on-11s soon, look for the battle for the RB2 role to ramp up over the final few weeks of camp and the preseason.

Groin exited Sunday’s practice with an apparent leg injury that has now been diagnosed as a groin injury. Per Fowler, Pierce’s injury is not expected to be serious, and the day-to-day diagnosis suggests he could return before the end of the week. Pierce is being pushed in camp by second-year receiver Adonai Mitchell for a role as the team’s primary deep threat, and can ill-afford to miss time as Mitchell continues to impress in camp.

Mattison left the field under his own power in Sunday’s game, and it was reported after the game that the veteran running back had suffered a neck injury. We now know that Mattison was taken by ambulance to the hospital after the injury and underwent surgery the same day. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports Mattison had a full range of motion, but he will now land on season-ending injured reserve after reportedly carving out a role for himself in camp. It’s a tough end to the season for a player who was hoping to bounce back following a disappointing 2024 season with the Raiders.

Williams has now met with two teams since the weekend, as the veteran running back was also brought in by the Bears on Saturday. Williams blew up for 262-1066-17 in 2022 but has totaled just 470 yards and two touchdowns on 154 carries since 2023 despite playing in 27 games. Williams’ workout comes a day after Alexander Mattison suffered a neck/shoulder injury in preseason action against the Bears. Now entering his age-30 season, Williams won’t have much to offer outside of a rotational and/or short-yardage role, which would make him unreliable for fantasy wherever he signs.

Machota notes that Javonte Williams has seen “the most reps with the starters,” but also points out the fact that Miles Sanders (knee) and Jaydon Blue (ankle) have both been sidelined with injuries. The fact that there are no standouts in Dallas’ backfield shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the veterans of the group both underperformed in the previous season with their respective teams. Williams is a surefire bet to open as the team’s starter if both Sanders and Blue are unable to go, but there’s a good chance this backfield remains in flux early into the season until a clear-cut starter emerges.

Longerbeam becomes the second Ravens rookie CB to be lost for the season due to a knee injury. Fellow rookie Bilhal Kone suffered a torn ACL and MCL in last Thursday’s preseason win over the Colts. Longerbeam, who was selected in the sixth round of this year’s draft, will now land on injured reserve and work toward returning next season. With two corners now out for the season, we can expect the Ravens to add a few new names to their secondary in the coming days.

Horn was involved in a car crash last week and reportedly suffered a thumb injury that required stitches. He was listed as day-to-day with his injury, and was not sporting pads in Monday’s practice, but Horn will hopefully be up to full speed later this week.